What is happening in arts teaching and learning in our classrooms? Recent NEMP reports tell us that Year 4 students are not performing well but that there is an increase in scores at Year 8. This new professional development resource builds on research into teacher practice in Years 0-6 classrooms in New Zealand primary schools. It offers new…

This book is a guide to activities appropriate for any type of arts and crafts program including those for camps, youth and adult groups, and outdoor education. Information concerning each craft is presented in a step by step format. Specific projects list the needed equipment and materials and have simple instructions and clear illustrations. The…

Rice can be the basis for mosaics, flower arrangements, games, toys, and many things children would like to make. It can add new dimensions to making candles, coasters, and jewelry. Working with rice can aid in the development of appreciation of texture, symmetry, coordination, imagination and, at the same time, result in hand-made gifts for…

An art activity which involved elementary students in making coiled clay constructions is described. (RM)

In this art activity elementary students are asked to design their own alphabet, not just by streamlining the letters they regularly use, but by inventing new letters. (RM)

A first-grade teacher describes how she taught her students to weave using real yarn. (RM)

Pictograms--assemblages of geometrical shapes that represent parts of the body--simply and vividly show how the body moves. They can be used to help elementary students draw larger figures and have confidence in drawing people. The pictograms also encourage children to look at shapes and details that artists use. (RM)

Connecting art and language arts, this guide offers creative lessons for more than 140 favorite children's books, most of which have been published within the last 10 years. The lessons help teachers inspire students in grades K-5 to create art projects related to a book's story. In the first part of the book, the author explains more than 50 art…

Describes how kindergarten children experienced the stages involved in the ceramic process in 3 30-minute class periods. Students created freeform, textured pendants which they glazed and fired. (KM)

Described is an art course in which fifth-grade students made masks using low fire whiteware as the medium. (RM)

Art activities, three for elementary students and one for secondary students, are described. Elementary students develop an autobiobox (a visual autobiography in a container), learn to draw trees in a meaningful way, and do human figure drawing; secondary students study and duplicate cast shadows. (RM)

This book offers a wide variety of easy-to-make crafts, including toys, games, and gifts, and each project begins with a box. The book provides directions, a materials list, and suggestions for setting aside a work area. The projects are illustrated with large full-color photographs and explained with simple step-by-step instructions. Contains a…

Five different art activities, using different media, are described: (1) "mystery molds," using plaster and discarded packaging materials; (2) "calico cottages," using boxes and fabric; (3) "foam friends," using plastic foam packing pieces; (4) "bauble boxes," using spray can tops and papier mache; and (5) "soft stuff," using old clothing. (CJ)

Gives instructions for student art projects inspired by the work of five famous artists: Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, and Michelangelo. Directions for making art smocks and a display kiosk are also included. (ME)

Clay is an incredible medium and can well serve any curriculum. Strategies that elementary teachers can use to help children interpret their ideas into finished clay pieces are discussed. (RM)